Head to Head Analysis: Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) & Fidelis Insurance (NYSE:FIHL)

Principal Financial Group (NASDAQ:PFG) and Fidelis Insurance (NYSE:FIHL) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Principal Financial Group and Fidelis Insurance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Principal Financial Group	9.96%	16.02%	0.57%
Fidelis Insurance	-0.56%	-0.94%	-0.18%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Principal Financial Group and Fidelis Insurance”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Principal Financial Group	$16.13 billion	1.25	$1.57 billion	$6.87	13.14
Fidelis Insurance	$2.58 billion	0.82	$113.30 million	($0.05)	-380.70

Principal Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than Fidelis Insurance. Fidelis Insurance is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Principal Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

75.1% of Principal Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.0% of Fidelis Insurance shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Principal Financial Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Principal Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $3.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Fidelis Insurance pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Principal Financial Group pays out 46.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fidelis Insurance pays out -1,200.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Principal Financial Group has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Principal Financial Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Principal Financial Group and Fidelis Insurance, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Principal Financial Group	0	0	1	0	3.00
Fidelis Insurance	2	4	4	0	2.20

Fidelis Insurance has a consensus target price of $22.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.58%. Given Fidelis Insurance’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Fidelis Insurance is more favorable than Principal Financial Group.

Volatility and Risk

Principal Financial Group has a beta of 0.89, indicating that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Fidelis Insurance has a beta of 0.24, indicating that its stock price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Principal Financial Group beats Fidelis Insurance on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc. provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Global Investors, Principal International, and U.S. Insurance Solutions segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides a portfolio of asset accumulation products and services for retirement savings and income. It offers products and services for defined contribution plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans, defined benefit pension plans, nonqualified executive benefit plans, employee stock ownership plans, equity compensation, and pension risk transfer services; individual retirement accounts; investment only products; and mutual funds, individual variable annuities, and bank products. The Principal Global Investors segment provides equity, fixed income, real estate, and other alternative investments, as well as asset allocation, stable value management, and other structured investment strategies. The Principal International segment offers pension accumulation products and services, mutual funds, asset management, income annuities, and life insurance accumulation products, as well as voluntary savings plans in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, India, and Southeast Asia. The U.S. Insurance Solutions segment provides specialty benefits, such as group dental and vision insurance, group life insurance, and group and individual disability insurance, as well as administers group dental, disability, and vision benefits; and individual life insurance products comprising universal, variable universal, indexed universal, and term life insurance products in the United States. It also offers insurance solutions for small and medium-sized businesses and their owners, as well as executives. Principal Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1879 and is based in Des Moines, Iowa.

About Fidelis Insurance

Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited, a specialty insurer, provides insurance and reinsurance solutions in Bermuda, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It operates in three segments: Specialty, Reinsurance, and Bespoke segments. The Specialty segment offers aviation and aerospace, energy, marine, property direct and facultative, and other specialty risk solutions. The Reinsurance segment provides property, retrocession, and whole account reinsurance solutions. The Bespoke segment offers customized risk solutions for clients that include credit and political risk, as well as other risk transfer opportunities, including political violence and terrorism, limited cyber reinsurance, tax liabilities, title, transactional liabilities, and other bespoke solutions. Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Pembroke, Bermuda.